Trembling Shadows
A romantic, psychological thriller
Kotra Siva Rama Krishna
“What then? She did a wrong and got pregnancy without a marriage and then got rid of it with the help of your mother. Is it is not a sin?” not averting her eyes from Sunanda’s face Sameera asked.
“People do wrongs. Just for simple wrongs or mistakes we should not hate them. Your mother might be quite young by that time. Sexual offences were quite natural at that age.” it seemed Suananda’s explanation not at all satisfied Sameera.
“But the abortion. How could she kill her own child? She would have done the same thing even I was in her womb at that time.” Sameera’s voice was still with full of anger.
“No. She did not get the child killed. It was a miscarriage. The abortion happened all by itself. I know it through my mom. My mom attended your mom on that day.” Sunanda said.
“It seems your mom shares everything with you even long back incidents also.” Looking sarcastically into the face of Sunanda, Sameera said.
“Not just my mom, my dad also shares everything with me. I tell them everything and they tell me everything including very past incidents also.” Sunanda said.
Sameera did not say anything but the anger in her was not lessened even little and it was so evident in her face also.
“Alright, put that aside. But what wrong your dad did, tell me? In fact he is having an unblemished character” with a demanding tone Sunanda said.
“Unblemished character only to innocent and ignorant people like you. He is still doing that sin. He is doing that with someone else. They have started that a long time back. And they are still continuing it” with a small tone Sameera said as if she was telling a secret. But her tone was filled with hatred, anger.
It happened six months or so back but she still could remember it very clearly. Sameera’s eyes turned red with anger while she was remembering that incident. She clenched her teeth again. Her both palms turned into fists. It had become evident that she was trying to control herself.
“What is that mistake? I just cannot understand.” With confusion in her face Sunanda asked her. She really could not understand what Sameera was talking.
“Having sex with other than spouse.” Sameera said.
“I just cannot believe he is doing such a thing. Anyhow who is that other person?” Sunanda asked her.
“Who else? Cannot you guess who it is?” Sameera tauntingly asked.
“Promise. I never can” Sunanda said maintaining the same expression in her face.
“If you cannot, you are an utter fool!”
“First tell me who it is?” Sunanda became irritant.
“Your mom herself” Sameera said looking into the eyes of Sunanda.
“What the hell you are talking?” Sunanda almost yelled and got off from the bed. Sunanda and Sameera were on the bed facing each other all the time.
“If you don’t believe it, I cannot help. But they have been doing this sin for a long time. Why my father left your mother aside and married my mother I cannot understand but before the marriage with my mother my father and your mother were doing this wrong and they are committing it still.”
“How dare you, you are talking about my mother in this way? If you say the same thing again I shall kill you. I did a big mistake by coming here. I never shall come here again” Sunanda was still yelling.
Sunanda’s anger really appalled and surprised Sameera. She did not expect this. She thought Sunanda also would have guessed it and would agree with her but did not expect this type of an outburst. If she had expected this type of an outrage she would not have ventured to say that so at all. She never wanted to lose the friendship of Sunanda.
“I am telling you the truth. I have seen them both together doing that with my own eyes. Through their talking between themselves, I came to know that it has started between them a long time back and they are continuing it now also. Please believe me.” Suddenly with a pleading expression in her face, Sameera said. She also got off from the bed and faced Sunanda.
“Shut up. I don’t want to hear anything from you. I never see your face again. Please don’t try to contact me from now on. Good bye forever.” Sunanda turned back to move away from there.
“Oh, Sunoo, please… don’t take it that much seriously at all. I am so sorry.” Coming across her way, Sameera said.
“Let me go and don’t try to talk to me again” Sunanda threw Sameera aside and went away
&&&
After that day there was no interaction between Sunanda and Sameera. Sameera was planning to restore her friendship again with Sunanda and it appeared as a good opportunity to meet Sunanda in the upstairs room and venture to repair the damage. Considering Sunanda’s talking with her in downstairs verandah, Sameera was thinking Sunanda also might be interested in continuing her friendship with her.
“Go carefully. The stairs may be quite slippery. Rain soaked they are” cautioning his daughter while she was going into the upstairs room Rajesh said.
“Don’t worry about me, dad. I shall be as much careful as a cat on a narrow wall” indeed she was careful while she went into the upstairs room.
Sunanda stood in the middle of the room and was looking ahead of her towards the wall.
“Sunoo…Sunanda…” Sameera called her from the back in a low voice like a whisper.
Sunanda turned and looked into the eyes of Sameera “Oh you!” The small smile spreaded on the lips of Sunanda relaxed Sameera. Sunanda let her hair loose and some of it cascading her facial features while most of it fall heavily on the back of her. It seemed that she had got that habit from her mother who always preferred her hair like that. Sameera never liked to make her hair as a single plait as her mother always preferred to do so. On one occasion she heard from her mother she preferred her hair into a sigle plait from her childhood itself. Sameera did not like let her hair loose like Sunanda and her mother who most of the time do so. She always liked keeping it into two plaits. Sunanda preferred to put ear studs as ornaments like her mother and Tanuja even they were giving unnecessary maturity to her whereas Sameera got earrings.
Sameera did not say anything immediately. She remained silent and turned her gaze down.
“Tell me, do you want to say something?” Sunanda was easily understood that Sameera was struggling in herself for something. She could even guess what that something as well.
“I am so sorry once again. I did not think my talking like that to you so on that day would hurt you that much.” Sameera said that in the same whisper like voice as she was confessing.
“I too should not have got that much of anger on you on that day” Sunanda also said with a whisper like voice. “I have been suspecting something like that and it was just confirmed by you so. In fact I just could not face the truth so on that day.”
Even Sunanda said it with a low voice, it was so clear to Sameera. She immediately faced Sunanda and asked her looking into her face. “Then, how you can remain silent like this? Is not your blood boiling?”
“Everything depends on how we do take it.” turning her head to the other side, Sunanda said.
“What the bloody hell that means?” Sameera clutched her shoulders and turned her face towards her again. “I just cannot understand what you are talking.”
“I don’t take sexual offences as seriously as you are taking. My mom and your dad were so close at one time, probably wanted to marry each other also and it started then. I don’t know the reasons which led your dad to marry your mom but my mom understood them. In fact my mom was the linchpin in making your dad in marrying your mom. For running of the hospital, my mom and your dad both are indispensable and they have to be close just as they used to be before their marriage. After having an intimacy between them so before, the marriage with someone else cannot stop them from having it again. Quite accidentally sometimes it happens and we need to understand.” Sunanda said.
“I am not having a heart as wide as you are having.” Sameera sarcastically said. “I never can forgive my dad for it as you have forgiven your mom. In fact I am quite angry with your mom also.”
Sunanda hissed out heavily but did not say anything.
“Did your mom say all this to you?” with a questioning expression in her face, Sameera asked her.
“No, she said some and I guessed the rest.” Sunanda said. “Your witnessing the same just confirmed my assumption.”
“Tell me one thing” Sameera paused for a moment and said again. “Does your dad know about this? Atleast assuming in the way you have assumed?”
“I don’t want to continue this topic anymore Sameera. If you hate me and don’t want to be a friend with me because of my accentric way of thinking, tell me so, I go away.” With a painful expression in her face, Sunanda said.
“No, it is not at all so.” Sameera immediately took the right hand of Sunanda into her hands and squeezed it gently. “For anything on the earth, I cannot leave your friendship.
Sunanda looked into the eyes of Sameera. Her lips parted with a smile.
“Friends again?” Sameera’s face lit up with pleasure.
“We are always friends, are not we?” Sunanda hugged Sameera and kissed on her right cheek.
Sameera reciprocated by kissing perfunctorily on the left cheek of Sunanda.
“Save it for your boy friend. Don’t waste your sweet kisses on me like this.” Releasing herself from her hug, Sunanda said.
“I am not having a boy friend yet” Sameera said.
“It is surprising! Are you really not having any boy friend?” Sunanda slitted her eyes.
“Not with this much of intimacy to plant kisses”
“Make one soon… before you become past age” Sunanda suggested.
“Alright… Alright… I shall consider your suggestion” feeling quite happy Sameera said.
There was silence between them both for some time.
“How spacious, how neat this room is!” Sameera exclaimed. First time after entering into it, she started observing it. “It seems that grandma taking the trouble to keep the house quite clean and neat all the time.”
“It seems like that so to me too” Sunanda said. “There are three rooms all in upstairs. The first room is this”
“Shall we see what is in store in the next two rooms?” Sameera suggested.
“Have you forgotten about the last room here? It is padlocked and as per the information we have got, there are dead bodies in it.” Sunanda’s eyes became wide with fear as she remembered it suddenly.
“It can be a rumor also. However much queer my grandma may be, I don’t think she did such type of a thing. Moreover….” Sameera paused for a moment and said. “dead bodies in a locked room can do nothing to us.”
“You are right of course. We should not become fearful unnecessarily. Come then.” they both came out of that room and went into the next one. Next room too was as much bigger as the first room. There was a big bed lied on the side of the room. What was surprising even more that the bed was quite neat as if made for some person important who might come at any moment to sleep on that.
“What a nice neat room, like the first one” Sunanda exclaimed “The exception is the quite neat bed here.”
(I hope that you enjoyed upto here. I shall publish the next chapter as soon as possible. Please don’t forget to rate and review.)
